I have reached chapter 13 in the worship book I am reading/studying this season (On Worship, H.B. Charles, Jr.) and there is no way to explain to you how hard this chapter hit me except to type it out and let you read it too. As God would have it (there is no such thing as luck), you will probably hear something very similar this Sunday morning in Pastor Doug’s sermon on worship. The title of chapter 13 is Sunday Morning Begins on Saturday Night. I have written on this subject in past Minutes, and to my regret, there have been many Sundays when I did not prepare myself well enough and as a result was distracted, disgruntled or daydreaming during worship instead being fully present as the Lord deserves. I never want to be in that position again, like Jacob at Bethel saying, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16) Listen to the wise words of Pastor Charles.

Be marked present for worship on the Lord’s Day. But do not show up just to say you were there. Be prepared to participate fully. Peter exhorts, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation - if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:1-3). To change your appetite, change your attitude. Your desire for spiritual milk is ruined by sinful ways. You must lay aside any sinful ways to come to church with a good attitude and a big appetite. (p. 79, emphasis mine)

The apostle Paul rebuked the church for abusing the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthian saints received the body and the blood of Christ in an unworthy manner and dishonored those who had nothing, These divisive acts were so severe that Paul claimed it was the reason some members of the church were sick, and some had died (1 Cor. 11:30). Paul admonished, “Let a person examine himself, then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28). We should seek to come before the Lord with clean hands and pure hearts. We should examine ourselves and then eat and drink of Christ. May I dare say that this call to examination, preparation, and consecration does not only apply to receiving the Lord’s Table? (p. 80)

                                            Examine yourself before you gather with the people of God.

                                            Examine yourself before you make your petitions to God in prayer.

                                            Examine yourself before you sing praise to God’s glory.

                                            Examine yourself before you sit under the Word of God.

                                            Examine yourself before you give an offering to God.

What you get out of going to church is determined by what you put into it. Your spiritual preparation for worship determines your meaningful participation in worship. (p. 81, emphasis mine)

I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 122:1)    

Careen